A Late Walk
When I go up through the mowing field, The headless aftermath, Smooth-laid like thatch with the heavy dew, Half closes the garden path. And when I come to the garden ground, The whir of sober birds Up from the tangle of withered weeds Is sadder than any words A tree beside the wall stands bare, But a leaf that lingered brown, Disturbed, I doubt not, by my thought, Comes softly rattling down. I end not far from my going forth By picking the faded blue Of the last remaining aster flower To carry again to you.
A Late Walk - context Summary
Published in a Boy's Will
Published in 1913 in Frost’s first U.S. collection A Boy’s Will, "A Late Walk" places a quiet autumn scene at the center of its meaning. The speaker moves through a dew‑laid field and a bare garden, noticing the subdued stirrings of birds and a single leaf falling. The poem links close natural observation with human feeling: small late-season details—the rattling leaf, the last aster—register loss, attention, and the impulse to bring a fading flower to another person. It reflects Frost’s rural New England focus on seasonal change and everyday intimacy.
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